Main lines of Research: Taxonomy, diverstity and ecology of nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with crop plants and their use in agriculture.

The research group

This Group was created in September 1995 in the Nitrogen Fixation Research Center (CIFN) with the objective of contributing to the improvement of sustainable agriculture through the basic and applied research in biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). Our studies have been directed at looking for well-known N 2 -fixing species (for instance, Azospirillum and Gluconacetobacter ), and for new rhizospheric and endophytic diazotrophs associated with plants of agricultural importance (e.g. corn and sugarcane) as well as "neglected" plants [e.g., coffee and teocintle (maize ancestor)], because it may provide a better picture not only of the distribution of N 2 -fixation ability among bacterial taxa, but also of the distribution and diversity of N 2 -fixing bacterial populations. For this, we have searched culture conditions for the selective isolation and definition of the taxonomic status of novel diazotrophs, using classic and molecular criteria, with the final objective of evaluating their potential to promote plant growth and increase yield of cereals, especially of maize.